Scottish Executive

Archives

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is available from its Freedom of Information Unit for local archives and what funding the Executive will provide to local authorities to enable them to provide archives that meet the requirements of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and associated codes of practice.

Tavish Scott: Local archives are funded by the relevant local authority and the Freedom of Information Unit provides no direct funding. The future arrangements for resourcing archive services will be considered as part of the development of the Scottish Public Records Strategy, which I announced in the answer given to question S2W-3740 on 30 October 2003.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Archives

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what figures are available in respect of the number of professional archivists and other staff employed by local authorities on archival work in (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04 and what the projected figures are for such staff in 2004-05.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have an archive unit (a) capable and (b) not capable of delivering a full service under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act and which local authorities have no archive unit.

Tavish Scott: The information requested is not held centrally.

Archives

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are national guidelines for charges that local authorities may make for access to archives under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Tavish Scott: The charges that can be made for access to information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 will be governed by fees regulations to be made under section 9 of the act. The draft regulations are presently the subject of a consultation exercise which ends on 31 May 2004. The consultation paper is available on the Executive’s website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/government/cocf-00.asp.

  For information being published in accordance with an authority’s publication scheme, the Scottish Information Commissioner has advised in his guide to publication schemes (paragraphs 4.8 and 4.10) that the authority is free to set its own charges as long as they are not unreasonable. The guide is available on the Commissioner’s website at http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/pscheme.htm.

Census

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether early release of the Scottish Census records of 1911 and 1921 was discussed at the Scottish Records Advisory Council on 26 April 2004 and, if so, what the outcome was.

Hugh Henry: I understand that this was discussed at the council meeting. The council understood the reasons for, and did not dissent from, the current policy of keeping personal census records confidential for 100 years.

Civil Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has, since the publication of the Civil Partnerships Bill in the House of Lords, consulted with Scottish faith communities to ask if they would wish the freedom to choose whether they will be able to officiate in the creation of the civil status that will arise from the Civil Partnerships Bill once enacted in the same way as they may officiate in the creation of the civil status of marriage under the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 and what the results of any such consultation were.

Hugh Henry: The Executive consulted widely prior to the publication of the Civil Partnership Bill including with faith groups. Since the publication of the Civil Partnership Bill on 31 March 2004, the Scottish Executive has not consulted with Scottish faith communities to ask if they wish to officiate in the formation of civil partnerships. It is of course the case that faith groups if they wish will be able to conduct blessings or other forms of ceremony in line with the wishes of the partners, before or after a civil partnership is registered.

Civil Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal advice it has taken on whether, if the Civil Partnerships Bill is enacted in the form currently proposed, it would be acting contrary to Articles 9(1) and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by allowing mixed-sex couples to manifest their faith in the creation of the civil status of marriage while not giving same-sex couples the freedom to manifest their faith in the creation of the civil status arising out of the Civil Partnerships Bill.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive is satisfied that the devolved provisions in the Civil Partnership Bill comply with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Civil Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if the Civil Partnership Bill is enacted in its current form, people of faith who wish to manifest their faith in the creation of their civil partnership will be able to request that their minister of religion be appointed as a registrar for the sole purpose of conducting that ceremony.

Hugh Henry: The Civil Partnership Bill does not allow for a minister of religion to be appointed as a registrar for the sole purpose of conducting a Civil Partnership Registration.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve NHS facilities for the deaf, in light of the report A Simple Cure – A national report into deaf and hard of hearing people’s experiences of the National Health Service , published by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer you to the answers given to questions S2W-6895 on 29 March 2004, S2W-7379, S2W-7380 and S2W-7381 on 28 April 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that the NHS becomes fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in respect of the requirements of deaf and hard of hearing people, given the report by RNID, A Simple Cure – A national report into deaf and hard of hearing people’s experiences of the National Health Service , which states that the cost to the NHS of missed appointments because of poor communication could be £20 million a year.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer you to my answers to parliamentary questions S2W-6895 on 29 March 2004, S2W-7379, S2W-7380 and S2W-7381 on 28 April 2004, S2W-8279, S2W-8280 and S2W-8281 on 26 April 2004. All answer to written answer to parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to investigate the introduction of communication support resources, such as video telephones, loop systems for hearing aid users, visual displays and trained lip readers in GP surgeries and other health care facilities in light of the report by RNID, A Simple Cure – A national report into deaf and hard of hearing people’s experiences of the National Health Service .

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards and independent contractors have been advised to conduct audits of their premises to ensure that they have considered what reasonable adjustments may be appropriate to the way they deliver services for disabled people. This may involve the provision of communication support resources appropriate to particular locations.

  The Scottish Executive Health Department has made available £1.5 million to help raise awareness amongst primary care contractors of the needs of disabled people. Such training has been shown elsewhere to be effective in improving services and to be valued by patients with particular needs.

  Please also refer to my answers to parliamentary questions S2W-6895 on 29 March 2004, S2W-7379, S2W-7380 and S2W-7381 on 28 April 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to implement the recommendation in the report by RNID, A Simple Cure – A national report into deaf and hard of hearing people’s experiences of the National Health Service , that an update of the NHS Disability Access Audit which includes the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people should be undertaken.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Health Department carried out a survey to monitor the progress of NHSScotland bodies with disability access audits early in 2003. The survey results were published with  NHS HDL(2003)31 ( http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/mels/HDL2003_31.pdf ), issued on 8 July 2003. The Health Department intend to update this information shortly.

  The audit looks at access related to premises and property and may not impact directly on the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. However, the good practice guidance on access to services Equality for disabled people in the NHS in Scotland (Bib. number 7233) provides support and guidance for staff in meeting the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. This guidance is being updated in partnership with NHS Health Scotland to ensure that the support mechanisms are available for staff to apply the guidance.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to implement the recommendations in the report by RNID, A Simple Cure – A national report into deaf and hard of hearing people’s experiences of the National Health Service , that all "front-line" staff undertake deaf and disability awareness training and that deaf awareness training becomes a part of all nursing and medical undergraduate courses.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Education Scotland is working with the Scottish Council on Deafness and a number of other organisations representing the deaf community in Scotland, to produce deaf awareness training. Representatives from the deaf community have provided essential information and guidance on the development of the training materials.

  The training will be available for use by all NHS providers by the end of 2004, and is suitable for use in standard induction training for all clinical and non-clinical staff. The training can include a short practical assessment to ensure trainees have reached a level of competency in using appropriate strategies when communicating with deaf people.

  Please also refer to my answers to parliamentary questions S2W-6895 on 29 March 2004, S2W-7379, S2W-7380 and S2W-7381 on 28 April 2004. All answers to parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Electricity

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Joint Energy Security of Supply Working Group (JESS) in respect of the possibility of publishing data on electricity supply and demand forecasts for Scotland, similar to those published in the JESS reports for England and Wales.

Lewis Macdonald: The regulation of the electricity sector, including the security of electricity supply, is a reserved matter. The Scottish Executive will work with the JESS group to examine how Scottish electricity supply and demand data could appropriately be published or incorporated into the next JESS report.

Electricity

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its representatives on the Joint Energy Security of Supply (JESS) Working Group have raised any concerns regarding a potential shortfall in electricity generation in Scotland in light of the planned closures of Cockenzie, Longannet and Hunterston B power stations.

Lewis Macdonald: The JESS Working Group monitors the changes that will occur in the energy generation market throughout the UK and recognises that new investment will be needed to replace existing generation plant once closed to ensure security of supply.

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7853 by Lewis Macdonald on 11 May 2004, how much the research project awarded to DTZ Pieda Consulting and the Science, Technology and Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex will cost.

Lewis Macdonald: The total cost of the contract awarded to DTZ Pieda Consulting and the Science, Technology and Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex for this research was £50,115 excluding VAT.

Finance

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the work being undertaken by the Financial Services Strategy Group.

Mr Jim Wallace: At the first meeting of the Financial Services Strategy Group (FSSG) in November, it was agreed that the group would develop a vision and strategy for the future success of the sector in Scotland. Three sub-groups were established to consider particular aspects of the strategy development. A steering group has met monthly since November and has been co-ordinating and overseeing the work of the subgroups. In parallel, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and PEST (political, economic, social and technological) analysis was commissioned to examine the environment in which the industry operates and to gather views from across the sector.

  The sub-groups presented their thinking to the strategy group yesterday. One group is compiling a picture of how we’d like the sector to look in five years time. Another has been considering the potential impact of off-shoring work currently undertaken in Scotland to lower cost regions such as India. The third has been heavily involved in refining the PEST analysis. The FSSG will consider the subgroup reports and other issues over the coming months as it continues to develop its vision and strategy for the sector. It remains on track to develop the strategy by the end of 2004.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to increase the number of fishing days allocated to the white fish fleet.

Ross Finnie: The number of days at sea available to fishing vessels is determined in Annex V to Council Regulation (EC) No. 2287/2003). We have recently written to the European Commission about the case for those fishing for North Sea haddock under special permit arrangements to be permitted additional days at sea to do so. We await a response and will be following up in meetings planned shortly with the Commission.

Health

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-665 by Mr Tom McCabe 30 October 2003, whether the study to consider the possible benefit to patients of alternative methods of supply and distribution of portable oxygen is complete and, if so, what the results of the study were.

Malcolm Chisholm: The study on alternative supply arrangements has yet to commence. A prerequisite for starting the study is receipt of data on how the new arrangements, which came in from 1 April 2004, are impacting across the NHS in Scotland.

  Arrangements for collection of the necessary data are now in place and the intention is to feed the results into a wider review of the revised Domiciliary Oxygen Service which is to take place in 2005-06.

Health

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-665 by Mr Tom McCabe on 30 October 2003, whether a decision has been taken regarding the possible benefits of making conservation devices available on the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: No decisions have been taken to date. A scoping study to establish the clinical suitability of the devices for patients, and the possible cost and supply implications, has just commenced. The results of the study will be available later this year.

Health

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, what information it has circulated to GPs, pharmacies and hospitals regarding the prescribing of portable oxygen.

Malcolm Chisholm: The three Health Department Letters (HDLs) listed were issued to all NHS boards earlier this year for distribution to family health service staff and health care professionals, including GPs and community pharmacists. Hospital staff with a clinical responsibility for Domiciliary Oxygen Therapy Service patients also received copies and their attention was drawn to the clinical criteria by which a patient's suitability for portable oxygen should be assessed.

  NHS HDL(2004)01 dated 12 January 2004

  Addendum to NHS HDL(2004)01 dated 9 February 2004

  NHS HDL(2004)11 dated 15 March 2004

  All HDLs may be accessed on the NHS net at http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk.

Housing

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the amount of affordable social housing in the central region and, in particular, whether any discussions have taken place between it and South Lanarkshire Council on the issue, especially relating to East Kilbride.

Ms Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her reply is as follows:

  Communities Scotland is in regular discussion with South Lanarkshire Council and neighbouring authorities about the provision of affordable social housing. South Lanarkshire Council has recently submitted its local housing strategy as a basis for identifying priorities for future housing provision, and this strategy is currently being assessed. During 2004-05 Communities Scotland expect to approve 242 new affordable homes in South Lanarkshire funded from its development programme.

Landfill

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of illegal or unsuitable materials being delivered to landfill sites by commercial contractors there have been in each year since 1999 and in each case (a) who the contractors were, (b) what actions were taken to address the issue and (c) what the nature of the materials was.

Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. There is no requirement on landfill operators in the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003, if they detect unsuitable materials being delivered to their sites, to report or record such incidents, only that they do not accept such deliveries. The offence in the regulations would be committed by a landfill operator who accepted such wastes rather than by the party which delivered them.

Landfill

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions of commercial contractors there have been for accepting illegal or unsuitable waste at landfill sites in each of the last six years and in each case (a) who the contractors were, (b) what the nature of the material was and (c) which landfill sites were involved.

Ross Finnie: This information is not available in the form requested. Information about successful environmental prosecutions is published in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s Annual Reports. These may be found on the agency’s website at:

  http://www.sepa.org.uk/publications/index.htm.

Landfill

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions of commercial contractors there have been for delivering, or attempting to deliver, illegal or unsuitable waste to landfill sites in each of the last six years and in each case (a) who the contractors were (b) what the nature of the material was and (c) which landfill sites and contractors were involved.

Ross Finnie: This information is not available in the form requested. Information about successful environmental prosecutions is published in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s Annual Reports. These may be found on the agency’s website at:

  http://www.sepa.org.uk/publications/index.htm.

Landfill

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for ensuring that vehicles used to transport waste to landfill sites are suitable and safe for such purposes.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is responsible for ensuring that operators fulfil their statutory duty to transport waste in such a way that it does not escape, and is therefore concerned that vehicles used for this purpose should be suitable. The safety of vehicles used to transport waste to landfill sites is, however, like the safety of other road vehicles, a matter for the Department for Transport of the UK Government and its agencies.

Landfill

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions of contractors transporting waste to landfill sites there have been for using unsuitable or unsafe vehicles in each of the last six years and in each case (a) what contractors were involved and (b) which landfill sites were their destination.

Ross Finnie: This information is not available in the form requested. Information about successful environmental prosecutions is published in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s Annual Reports. These may be found on the agency’s website at:

  http://www.sepa.org.uk/publications/index.htm.

  Such information would include any details available on prosecutions relating to the use of unsuitable vehicles. The safety of vehicles, however, is a matter for the Department for Transport of the UK Government.

Marriage

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many couples, in the last year for which statistics are available, chose to have the civil status of marriage created between them in a ceremony conducted by a registrar and how many in a ceremony conducted by a minister of religion authorised pursuant to the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977.

Hugh Henry: Statistics published by the Registrar General for Scotland on 31 July 2003 in his Annual Review of Demographic Trends show that in 2002 there were 11,449 civil marriages carried out by registrars and 18,377 marriages carried out by religious celebrants. Provisional figures for the year 2003 show that there were 13,861 civil marriages and 16,896 religious marriages.

NHS Waiting Times

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current (a) target, (b) average, and (c) actual median waiting time is in each NHS board area for a first consultation at an ear, nose and throat clinic following referral from a general practitioner, showing the differences between routine and non-routine referrals where applicable.

Malcolm Chisholm: The mean and median waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in the speciality of ear, nose and throat (ENT), following referral by a general medical practitioner, by NHS board area of residence, in the year ended 30 September 2003, are given in the table. This information is compiled from discharge data, and it is not possible to separately identify routine and non-routine appointments.

  Partnership for Care: Scotland’s Health White Paper and A Partnership for a Better Scotland include our commitment that, by the end of 2005, no patient will wait more than 26 weeks for a first out-patient appointment, following referral by a general medical/dental practitioner.

  The Centre for Change and Innovation are leading a £3.5 million national redesign of ENT outpatient services, launched on 7 May. This redesign is supporting frontline clinicians to test and implement new ways of delivering out-patient services that reduce waiting times and improve quality.

  NHSScotland: Mean And Median Waiting Times For A First Out-patient Appointment With a Consultant In the Specialty of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Following Referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS Board of Residence, Year Ended 30 September 2003

  

 NHS Board
 Mean Waiting 
  Time
(Days)
 Median Waiting 
  Time
(Days)


 Argyll and Clyde
 76
 64


 Ayrshire and Arran
 54
 47


 Borders
 73
 34


 Dumfries and Galloway
 52
 46


 Fife
 102
 82


 Forth Valley
 80
 63


 Grampian
 143
 85


 Greater Glasgow
 110
 84


 Highland
 51
 43


 Lanarkshire
 117
 98


 Lothian
 87
 55


 Orkney
 *
 *


 Shetland
 44
 45


 Tayside
 122
 55


 Western Isles
 73
 69


 Scotland
 97
 66



  Source: ISD Scotland SMR00.

  Note: *Information not shown due to small numbers.

Osteoporosis

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Forsteo (teriparatide) for the treatment of severe osteoporosis is now uniformly available across each NHS board area, in light of its announcement that unique category drugs recommended by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) will be made available uniformly across Scotland within three months of an SMC recommendation.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards are expected to take account of advice from the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) and ensure that recommended drugs or treatments are made available to meet clinical need. In the case of Forsteo (teriparatide), the SMC has advised that it "is accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland for the treatment of established (severe) osteoporosis in post-menopausal women".

Osteoporosis

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding is available in each NHS board to support clinicians who wish to use Forsteo (teriparatide) to treat patients with severe osteoporosis.

Malcolm Chisholm: Funding to implement the advice and recommendations of the Scottish Medicines Consortium is not separately identified in NHS board allocations.

  NHS board general revenue allocations already include provision for the cost of prescribed drugs and are set to allow for the introduction of new drugs and the greater use of existing therapies.

Osteoporosis

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in each NHS board area receive Forsteo (teriparatide).

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not available centrally. Forsteo (teriparatide) should be restricted to initiation by specialists experienced in the treatment of osteoporosis. Prescription data collected centrally relate to prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors. These data are not patient-specific and do not take into account medicines dispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

Post Office

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to extend the fund to develop post offices in deprived urban areas.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: There are currently no plans to extend the Fund to Develop Post Offices in Deprived Urban Areas.

Post Office

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to change the criteria for eligibility under the fund to develop post offices in deprived urban areas.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria under the Fund to Develop Post Offices in Deprived Urban Areas.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how the 40% target for renewable electricity generation in 2020 was arrived at.

Lewis Macdonald: The 40% target is based upon a number of factors - the current level of renewables generation (mainly large hydro), Scotland’s potential renewable resource (equal to around ten times our peak demand) and the ability within that to develop a wide range of different technologies (for example wind, wave, hydro and biomass). The target was agreed following a consultation with the industry, academia and other expert stakeholders. Respondents agreed that 40% was a sufficiently challenging aspiration.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are subsidiary targets within the 18% and 40% targets for different renewable generation technologies.

Lewis Macdonald: There are no subsidiary targets. We are working through the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) to ensure that marine, biomass and other renewable technologies play important roles in providing a diverse supply portfolio.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on what proportion of intermittent renewable generation can be accommodated in the Scottish grid without incurring extra costs whilst maintaining a secure electricity supply.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-8312 on 25 May 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the 40% target for renewable energy generation refers to 40% of the total installed capacity of generation, 40% of installed capacity to meet Scottish peak demand plus a suitable load margin, 40% of peak Scottish power demand, 40% of maximum Scottish energy demand or any other measure of electricity generation.

Lewis Macdonald: The target is for 40% of the electricity generated in Scotland by 2020 to be from renewable sources.

Scottish Executive Staff

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff there are in its External Relations Division, broken down by section.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are 14 staff in External Relations Division including one vacancy which is currently being filled. In addition to the Head of Division and a personal assistant, the remaining staff are currently arranged in three branches as follows:

  

 EU Policy and Institutions
 3 
  staff


 Strategy and Implementation
 7 staff


 Links Policy
 2 staff

Social Services

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consent has been given for phase 2 of the registration of care workers with the Scottish Social Services Council.

Euan Robson: The groups of staff to be included in Phase 2 of registration with the Scottish Social Services Council was detailed in the publication The Way Forward for Care which was laid before Parliament in July 2000. The staff who will be registered in Phase 2 are all staff in adult residential care and all staff working in early education and child care.

Social Services

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what charges are levied by the Scottish Social Services Council on those who register with the council.

Euan Robson: All workers who apply to be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council will be required to pay an annual fee. Currently the fee level has been set only for workers in Phase 1 of registration. The current annual fee is £30.00 for all workers with the exception of students of the new social work honours degree where the annual fee is £10.00. No fee level has yet been set for workers in Phase 2 of registration.

  All applications for registration must be accompanied by a completed disclosure application. The current fee levied by Disclosure Scotland to provide the information is £13.60.

Voluntary Sector

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how any resources committed for 2003-04 to the proposed Project Scotland initiative for young people have been spent and what the outcomes of this expenditure have been.

Ms Margaret Curran: The working group for Project Scotland (previously referred to as Scotscorps) developed detailed proposals for a ground-breaking youth volunteering initiative involving the public, private and voluntary sectors. These proposals were subsequently endorsed by Ministers and Project Scotland was announced on 11 May 2004.

  The direct and indirect costs associated with this development work amount to £71,000 in 2003-04. This has covered:

  Market research

  Focus group meetings with young volunteers

  Branding research

  Engagement with potential partner agencies in the voluntary and private sectors

  Legal advice

  Financial advice

  Mapping of other initiatives aimed at young volunteers

  Working group expenses

  Report production costs

  Staff costs associated with support work for the working group.

Voluntary Sector

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources have been committed to the proposed Scotscorps initiative in the next three years and how youth work and other voluntary organisations will be able to access these resources in order to develop the volunteering opportunities that they offer to young people.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is providing £1.9/£3.5/£3.5 million to Project Scotland over the next three years. Project Scotland will shortly initiate discussions with potential partner organisations about the development of specific volunteering programmes.

Water Fluoridation

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7393 by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 May 2004, on what date it will publish the conclusions of Towards Better Oral Health in Children and announce its decision on fluoridation of drinking water and, if no such date has yet been set, what the reasons are for the position on the matter.

Malcolm Chisholm: The views expressed during the consultation process have been independently analysed and are being carefully considered. The outcome will be announced as soon as our consideration is complete.